Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Torah for your table- Give a profound Dvar Torah and rock the Shabbos table in one minute!

Q. Why does the Torah need to create such an elaborate system for atoning in order to evoke feelings of heartfelt teshuva within a person? Why didn’t the Torah just command that we verbally confess our sins and repent?

A. Essentially, people could merely say, ‘I did wrong;’ however, just by verbalizing it, it does not evoke the same reaction within. Something visually seen, bringing an animal to the temple, resting one’s hands on it, and being a part of the slaughtering, butchering, and burning, arouses a much larger psychological understanding of committing a transgression against the Torah than does an oral confession. Moreover, from this we can see the source of all the mitzvot we do. For example, on Passover, we do not merely read the Haggadah and remember the matzah and maror, rather we partake in the physical mitzvah with our senses and eat it. Furthermore, on Succot, we fulfill the mitzvah by sitting in a sukkah and picking up the four species. In all, in order to fulfill a mitzvah, we engage our senses in order to fulfill the essence of the mitzvah and have an all-encompassing experience.

Additionally, the Torah furthers this idea when discussing what constitutes a good teacher. A teacher who engages and involves his students is revered, because learning Torah and making it a tangible experience makes a lasting impression on the students, who will then engross themselves completely with Judaism and live a Torah enriched life.